Principles

• Identification of objectives: Also referred to as 'Selection and Maintenance of the Aim'; Tactics should be directed to achieve a particular outcome such as the capture of a hill, a successful disengagement from an advancing enemy, or merely causing a greater proportional loss to the enemy than to your own force (attrition). Once an aim is identified, time, resources and effort are expended to achieve it; therefore, these are wasted if the aim is frequently changed. By way of an operational/strategic level of example, consider Hitler's frequent shift of focus in 1941 in the invasion of the Soviet Union; constantly shifting resources from one operation to another; when he might have done better to remain focused on the capture of Moscow first.

• Force concentration
  Force concentration
  Force concentration is the practice of concentrating a military force, so as to bring to bear such overwhelming force against a portion of an enemy force that the disparity between the two forces alone acts as a force multiplier, in favour of the concentrated forces.-Mass of decision:Force...
  
    A blade is edged so that it lands with more energy per square centimeter than an equally sized blunt object. Concentration of effort is a fighting force's edge. Once an aim is identified, earmark enough resources to achieve it and focus them on the task.
• Exploiting prevailing weather. This is not one of the stated principles of war, but is a good habit. Many of the most successful attacks in the First World War: Vimy Ridge, Amiens
  Amiens
  Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
  
   or the opening of the German March offensive of 1918 began - mostly coincidentally - in fog or a snow storm. The Japanese carrier groups sent to attack Pearl Harbor and Midway advanced whenever possible behind a storm front, as the bad weather cut down on the chance of detection.
• Exploiting night
  Night operations (military)
  Night operations are military activity performed in the very low light environments, typically at night. Due to restricted visibility, until recently night operations were among the most difficult for troops to perform tasks and carry out missions, and were rarely undertaken.The shinobi of feudal...
  
  : Again, this is not a principle of war, but a temporary advantage of technology in the last 40 years. Western troops, in particular, have been well-equipped with night vision equipment.

• Maintenance of reserve
  Military reserve
  A military reserve, tactical reserve, or strategic reserve is a group of military personnel or units which are initially not committed to a battle by their commander so that they are available to address unforeseen situations or exploit suddenly developing...
  
  s: Again, in many national armies’ "Principles of War", this is not listed, except perhaps generally under the heading of 'Flexibility'. The maintenance of a reserve force allows a tactician to exploit new opportunities, or react quickly to reverses and unexpected developments. Typically, most commanders keep about a quarter of the forces back in reserve for this function - a battalion might keep a company back, the brigade might keep a battalion back, etc.
• Economy of force
  Economy of force
  Economy of force is the principle of employing all available combat power in the most effective way possible, in an attempt to allocate a minimum of essential combat power to any secondary efforts. It is the judicious employment and distribution of forces towards the primary objective of any...
  
  : A common principle of war; the attentive commander knows that his troops, equipment and supplies must be husbanded and used carefully, only if there is a good chance of success.
• Force protection: Another component is the principle of security. A military unit or formation must always have sentries or reconnaissance deployed, specialized weapons against specific attacks - such as anti-aircraft defences today - must always be carefully sited and available, even if halted for only a short period, defensive measures should be taken.
  • Force dispersal
    Force dispersal
    Force dispersal is the practice of spreading out soldiers and vehicles in an army. It is used to minimize the effects of collateral damage, such as from bombs and artillery, and increases the number of artillery rounds needed to neutralize or destroy a military force in proportion to the dispersal...
    
    : This is not a principle of war, but is a very necessary practice in modern circumstances where contemporary firepower is so overwhelming. It is interesting to consider that in a kilometer wide battlefield, the Classic Greeks or Romans might have stuffed over 8,000 men in a front line formation, Wellington would consider half that number crowded; a World War One Army would deploy 1,000 men, and today's forces might use less than 100.
  • Military camouflage
    Military camouflage
    Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...
    
    : Camouflage is an ancient measure designed to deceive opponents and protect one's forces. Outlines have to be broken up, textures disguised, and reflective surfaces dulled. An example of this is the ghillie suit
    Ghillie suit
    A ghillie suit, wookie suit, yowie suit, or camo tent is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes made to look like leaves and twigs, and optionally augmented with scraps of foliage...
    
    . Camouflage techniques also extend beyond the visible spectra that the human eye normally uses, as the same principles now need to work in infrared light, against starlight scopes and radar frequencies.
  • Deception
    Deception
    Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
    
    : Sun Tzu
    Sun Tzu
    Sun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...
    
     said that all war is based on deception back in the 4th century BC; a wise commander takes measures to let his opponent only react to the wrong circumstances. Diversionary attacks, feints, decoys; there are thousands of tricks that have been successfully used, and still have a role in the future.
    • Perfidy
      Perfidy
      In the context of war, perfidy is a form of deception, in which one side promises to act in good faith with the intention of breaking that promise once the enemy has exposed himself .The practice is specifically prohibited under the 1977 Protocol I Additional to the...
      
      : Soldiers tend to have assumptions and ideas of rules and fair practices in combat, but those combatants who raise surrender flags to lure their attackers in the open, or who act as stretcher bearers to deceive their targets tend to be especially disliked.
    • False flag
      False flag
      False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
      
      : An ancient ruse de guerre - in the days of sail, it was permissible for a warship to fly the flag of an enemy, so long as it properly hoisted its true colors before attacking. Wearing enemy uniforms and using enemy equipment to infiltrate or achieve surprise is possible.
  • Electronic countermeasures
    Electronic countermeasures
    An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
    
    
    • Electronic counter-counter-measures
    • Radio silence
      Radio silence
      In telecommunications, radio silence is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons.The term "radio station" may include anything capable of transmitting a radio signal....
      
       - while travelling, a fleet will not communicate with their radios to avoid detection by enemy forces.
• Fortification
  Fortification
  Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
  
  
  • Field works (entrenchments
    Trench warfare
    Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
    
    )
    • Over Head Protection
    • Revetting
    • Sangars: In areas where the ground is too rocky for troops to dig in, they construct bullet resistant fighting positions by stacking stones.
    • Shell scrape
      Shell scrape
      A Shell scrape is a type of military earthwork long and deep enough to lie flat in. While similar to a Defensive fighting position in that the purpose is to shield a single soldier from artillery, mortar and direct small arms fire, it is not intended to be used for fighting from.Shell scrapes are...
      
      s
    • Foxholes
    • Manhole
      Manhole
      A manhole is an opening used to gain access to sewers or other underground structures, usually for maintenance.Manhole may also refer to:* Manhole , a metal band from Los Angeles* The Manhole, a computer game...
      
      s
    • Spider hole
      Spider hole
      A spider hole is U.S. military parlance for a camouflaged one-man foxhole, used for observation. A spider hole is typically a shoulder-deep, protective, round hole, often covered by a camouflaged lid, in which a soldier can stand and fire a weapon...
      
      s
  • Strong points
• Use and improvement of terrain
  • High ground
    High ground
    High ground is a spot of elevated terrain which can be useful in military tactics. Fighting from an elevated position is easier for a number of reasons. Soldiers will tire more quickly when fighting uphill, will move more slowly, and if fighting in formation will have little ability to see beyond...
    
    
  • Protection
  • Natural barriers - e.g. rivers
  • Obstacles and barriers - man made
    • Barbed wire
      Barbed wire
      Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
      
      
    • Anti-vehicle ditches
      Ditch (fortification)
      A ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders...
      
      
    • Anti-vehicle berm
      Berm
      A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm originates in the Middle Dutch and German berme and came into usage in English via French.- History :...
      
      s (knife edges)
• Multiple Axis of Movement
• Reconnaissance
  Reconnaissance
  Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
  
  
• Fire Attacks: Reconnaissance by fire is used by apprehensive soldiers when they suspect the enemy is lurking nearby. Basically, fire into likely enemy positions and see if anyone returns fire, or otherwise reveal themselves.

Small unit tactics

• Infantry Minor Tactics
  • Fire and movement
    Fire and Movement
    Fire and movement or fire and manoeuvre is a military tactic that uses suppressive fire, or threat thereof, to decrease the enemy's ability to return fire, organization and unit cohesion, and morale. The tactic is used by small unit commanders on the modern battlefield...
    
     or "pepper potting", "Suppressing Them" and "Pinning down"
  • Basic Drill
  • Contact Drill
  • Immediate Ambush Drill
  • Counter Ambush Drill
• Hull-down
  Hull-down
  The term hull-down describes the situation where the upper part of a vessel or vehicle is visible, but the main, lower body is not; the opposite term hull-up describes the situation where all of the body is visible....
  
   (in armored warfare)
• Shoot-and-scoot
  Shoot-and-scoot
  The term shoot and scoot refers to an artillery tactic of firing at a target and then immediately moving away from the location where the shots were fired. The reason for this is to avoid counter-battery fire - fired by enemy artillery or delivered by attack aircraft and helicopters, in order to...
  
  
• Infiltration tactics
  Infiltration tactics
  In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small, lightly equipped infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front line strongpoints and isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons.-Development during World War I:...
  
  
• Fire and Movement
  Fire and Movement
  Fire and movement or fire and manoeuvre is a military tactic that uses suppressive fire, or threat thereof, to decrease the enemy's ability to return fire, organization and unit cohesion, and morale. The tactic is used by small unit commanders on the modern battlefield...
  
  
  • Four Fs: Find, Fix, Flank, Finish
  • Overwatch
    Overwatch
    In modern warfare, overwatch is the state of one small unit or military vehicle supporting another unit, while they are executing fire and movement tactics. An overwatching, or supporting unit has taken a position where it can observe the terrain ahead, especially likely enemy positions. This...
    
    
    • Bounding Overwatch
      Bounding overwatch
      Bounding overwatch, also known as leapfrogging or simply bounding, is the military tactic of alternating movement of coordinated units to allow, if necessary, suppressive fire in support of offensive forward movement or defensive disengagement....
      
      
  • Center Peel
    Center Peel
    Center Peel, or simply "Peel" for short is a type of retreat practiced by modern-day infantry. This particular tactic is more specifically designed for situations where smaller groups of infantry withdraw from an engagement of a much larger force. In general terms, it is a sloped or diagonal...
    
    
• Patrolling
  Patrolling
  Patrolling is a military tactic. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return. The tactic of patrolling may be applied to ground troops, armoured units, naval units, and combat aircraft...
  
  
  • Reconnaissance Patrol
  • Fighting Patrol
  • Standing Patrol (OP/LP)
  • Saturation patrol
    Saturation patrol
    A saturation patrol is a police or military patrol tactic wherein a large number of officers are concentrated into a small geographic area. Saturation patrols are used for hot-spot crime reduction, DUI checkpoints, and other location-specific patrols...
    
    
• Ambush
  Ambush
  An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
  
  
  • Linear Ambush
  • 'L' Ambush
  • Area Ambush
• Guerrilla
• Run n' Gun

Offensive tactics

• Charge
  Charge (warfare)
  A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
  
  
• Highland charge
  Highland charge
  The Highland charge was a battlefield shock tactic used by the clans of the Scottish Highlands which incorporated the use of firearms.-Historical Development :...
  
  
• Ambush
  Ambush
  An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
  
  
• Skirmish
• Trench raiding
  Trench raiding
  Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale surprise attacks on enemy position. Raids were made by both sides in the conflict and always took place at night for reasons of stealth...
  
  
• Peaceful Penetration
  Peaceful Penetration
  Peaceful Penetration was an Australian infantry tactic used during the First World War , which was a cross between trench raiding and patrolling...
  
  
• Rapid dominance
  • Blitzkrieg
    Blitzkrieg
    For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
    
    : A misnomer, usually associated with specific weapons systems (such as the use of tanks and aircraft) rather than as a technique. Blitzkrieg could be also referred to as the "Expanding Torrent" (Liddell Hart), Tukhachevsky
    Mikhail Tukhachevsky
    Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander in chief of the Red Army , and one of the most prominent victims of Joseph Stalin's Great Purge.-Early life:...
    
    's and the post 1960 Soviet theorists of 'Deep Battle', or even the 'OODA Loop' of contemporary US usage. Essentially, the ideas are the same. These include utilizing speed, manoeuvre, and the shock of sudden violence throughout the entire depth of an enemy's defence to create conditions of psychological shock in the minds of their troops and commanders. The idea is to beat them mentally, as a prelude to their destruction or surrender. Deep penetrations by raiding formations - such as a Soviet Operational Manoeuvre Group
    Operational manoeuvre group
    The Operational manoeuvre group was a Soviet Army organisational maneuver warfare concept created during the early 1950s to replace the Cavalry mechanized group which performed the deep operations on the Eastern Front during the Second World War....
    
     (OMG) or a battalion of air cavalry - coupled with disruptive techniques and air superiority wrest the initiative away from the enemy, keep them off balance and unable to react faster than one can exploit, and prevent them from establishing effective defences.
  • Carpet bombing
    Carpet bombing
    Carpet bombing is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase invokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many...
    
    : The usage of massive bomber squadrons to annihilate an enemy city. While useful in destroying industrial might and wrecking the enemy's ability to wage war, it can often fail to impact civilian morale. During various stages of World War II, air raids against British and German cities became as routine for civilians as the weather.
  • Human wave attack
    Human wave attack
    Human wave attack, also known as human sea attack, is an offensive infantry tactic, in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with densely concentrated infantry formations against the enemy line, intended to overrun the defenders by engaging in melee combat.-Definition:According...
    
    
  • Shock tactics
    Shock tactics
    Shock tactics, shock tactic or Shock attack is the name of an offensive maneuver which attempts to place the enemy under psychological pressure by a rapid and fully committed advance with the aim of causing their soldiers to retreat...
    
    
  • Swarming (Military)
    Swarming (military)
    Military swarming is a behavior where autonomous, or semi-autonomous, units of action attack an enemy from several different directions and then regroup. Pulsing, where the units shift the point of attack, is a part of military swarming. Swarming is not limited to the human military realm...
    
    
• Planned attack
  • Use of Supporting Fire
    Fire support
    Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
    
    
  • Indirect Fire Support
    Fire support
    Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
    
    
  • Base of fire
    Base of fire
    A base of fire is a military term for a supporting force that provides overwatch and covering fire to other advancing units while they are executing fire and movement tactics. A base of fire can be a platoon during company fire and movement, by individual armoured fighting vehicles A base of fire...
    
    
  • Flying wedge
    Flying wedge
    A flying wedge is a configuration created from a body moving forward in a triangular formation. This V-shaped arrangement began as a successful military strategy in ancient times when infantry units would move forward in wedge formations to smash through an enemy's lines...
    
     (used by Alexander the Great)
  • Armoured spearhead
  • Encirclement
    Encirclement
    Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The German term for this is Kesselschlacht ; a comparable English term might be "in the bag"....
    
    
  • Hammer and anvil
    Hammer and anvil
    The Hammer and Anvil tactic is a military tactic used since the beginning of organized warfare. It was used mostly in the ancient world, including by Alexander the Great.- The procedure :...
    
    
  • Inverted wedge
    Inverted wedge
    The inverted wedge is a military formation resembling a "V" or inverted triangle, and is sometimes known as a "V-formation". In the inverted wedge, two units advance abreast of each other, and a third unit follows behind and between the two, in reserve...
    
    
  • the "refuse" (cavalry formation)
  • Frontal assault
    Frontal assault
    The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces toward the front of an enemy force . By targeting the enemy's front, the attackers are subjecting themselves to the maximum defensive power of the enemy...
    
    
  • Holding attack - to hold the enemy in position while other offensive or defensive activity takes place
  • Penetration or infiltration
    Infiltration tactics
    In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small, lightly equipped infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front line strongpoints and isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons.-Development during World War I:...
    
    
  • Pincer movement
    Pincer movement
    The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
    
     - An army assaults an enemy by attacking two sides at opposite locations, often planning to cut off the enemy from retreat or additional support in preparation for annihilation.
  • Flanking maneuver
    Flanking maneuver
    In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its...
    
    
• Interdiction - Severing or disrupting lines of communication and supply
  • Air interdiction
    Air interdiction
    Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units...
    
    
• Control MSR (Main supply routes)
• Envelopment tactics
  • Circumvallation
  • Finnish motti tactics
  • Siege
    Siege
    A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
    
    
  • Vertical envelopment
    • Airborne Forces
    • Air Mobile Forces
• Rapid deployment
  • Capturing key points
  • Airborne operations
    Aerial warfare
    Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...
    
    
  • Air Mobile operations
  • Amphibious operations
    Amphibious warfare
    Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
    
    
  • Motorized operations
  • Tank desant
    Tank desant
    Tank desant is a military combined arms tactic, where infantry soldiers ride into an attack on tanks, then dismount to fight on foot in the final phase of the assault...
    
    
  • Mechanized operations
    Mechanized Warfare
    Mechanized Warfare is the sixth studio album released by American power metal band Jag Panzer, released in 2001. This album is more progressive than the band's previous work...
    
    
  • Armored operations
  • Raiding
    Raid (military)
    Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
    
    : A small team is inserted deep behind enemy lines to capture a high valued individual or destroy a vital enemy installation then extracted before the enemy can respond.
• Preemptive Strike
  Preemptive war
  A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived inevitable offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending war before that threat materializes. It is a war which preemptively 'breaks the peace'. The term: 'preemptive war' is...
  
  
• Disrupting Communications
  • Electronic countermeasures
    Electronic countermeasures
    An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
    
    
  • Radar Jamming
  • Radio Jamming
    Radio jamming
    Radio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Unintentional jamming occurs when an operator transmits on a busy frequency without first checking whether it is in use, or without being able to hear stations using the frequency...
    
    

Defensive tactics

• Basic Principles
  • Defence in depth
    Defence in depth
    Defence in depth is a military strategy; it seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space...
    
    
  • Mutual Support (e.g. by crossfire
    Crossfire
    A crossfire is a military term for the siting of weapons so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I....
    
    )
  • Phalanx formation
    Phalanx formation
    The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
    
    
  • All round defence
    All round defence
    All round defence is a defensive posture, usually adopted in times of confusion by all military units from squad up. In a prepared position, all round defence is adopted so that the unit is capable of observing all ground and directing fire onto the observed ground. It is typically used in all...
    
    
• Fighting withdrawal
  • Reserved demolitions
  • Scorched earth
    Scorched earth
    A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
    
    
  • Booby trap
    Booby trap
    A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
    
    s
    • Minefields
      Land mine
      A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
      
      
  • Trench warfare
    Trench warfare
    Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
    
    
• Counter attack
  • Breakout
    Breakout (military)
    A breakout is a military operation to end a situation of encirclement or siege. It is used in contexts such as: "The British breakout attempt from Normandy"....
    
    
  • Counter battery fire
  • Rapid reaction force
    Rapid reaction force
    A rapid reaction force is a military or police unit designed to respond in very short time frames to emergencies. When used in reference to police forces such as SWAT teams, the time frame is minutes, while in military applications, such as with the use of paratroops or other commandos, the time...
    
    
• Delaying Defence
  • Break contact
• Hedgehog defence
  Hedgehog defence
  In warfare, the hedgehog defence is a military tactic for defending against a mobile armoured attack, or blitzkrieg. The defenders deploy in depth in heavily fortified positions suitable for all-around defence. The attackers can penetrate between these "hedgehogs", but each position continues to...
  
  
  • military bottleneck
• Pakfront
  Pakfront
  The Pakfront was a defensive military tactic developed by the German forces on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. It was named after the phonetic pronunciation of the acronym nomenclature for German towed anti-tank guns, PaK...
  
  

Deception

• Deception
  Deception
  Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
  
   and misdirection
  Feint
  Feint is a French term that entered English from the discipline of fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will...
  
  
  • Military camouflage
    Military camouflage
    Military camouflage is one of many means of deceiving an enemy. In practice, it is the application of colour and materials to battledress and military equipment to conceal them from visual observation. The French slang word camouflage came into common English usage during World War I when the...
    
    
  • Stealth technology
    Stealth technology
    Stealth technology also termed LO technology is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures, which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection...
    
    
  • Disinformation
    Disinformation
    Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth...
    
    
  • Feint
    Feint
    Feint is a French term that entered English from the discipline of fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will...
    
     or diversionary attacks
  • Reverse slope defence
  • Electronic warfare
    Electronic warfare
    Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...
    
    
  • Force multiplication
    Force multiplication
    Force multiplication, in military usage, refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes which make a given force more effective than that same force would be without it. The expected size increase required to have the same effectiveness without that advantage is the multiplication factor...
    
    
• Use of surprise
  • Parthian shot
    Parthian shot
    The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous by the Parthians, ancient Iranian people. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse, would feign retreat; then, while at a full gallop, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy. The maneuver required superb equestrian skills,...
    
    
  • Hit-and-run tactics
    Hit-and-run tactics
    Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.-History:...
    
    
  • Irregular warfare
    Irregular military
    Irregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....
    
    

See also

• Military science
  Military science
  Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for...
  
  
• Military strategy
  Military strategy
  Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
  
  
• Tactical formation
  Tactical formation
  A tactical formation is the arrangement or deployment of moving military forces such as infantry, cavalry, AFVs, military aircraft, or naval vessels...
  
  
• List of military strategies
• List of established military terms